


let your leaves fall and return

by weasleytook



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: F/M, Post-Career of Evil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-12 12:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12959067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleytook/pseuds/weasleytook
Summary: Robin decides to finally take control of her life, and part of that involves figuring out exactly how Cormoran fits in to that. Picks up where directly where Career of Evil ended.





	let your leaves fall and return

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bow/gifts).



> Thanks to Lisa for the beta! Any remaining errors are totally my responsibility.

“I do…”

The words tumbled out of her, maybe because she had practiced them enough, or because it was the natural response to wedding vows being spoken to you. It came out without hesitation, but it wasn’t Matthew she was looking at when she said them. 

She stared down Strike and noticed briefly that he looked like absolute hell. Part of her wanted to march right down the aisle and tell him exactly how angry she was, but instead she turned back to Matthew. Matthew’s jaw was set, his eyes steely and she knew exactly what that look meant. 

The vicar sputtered out, “Sh - should I proceed?”

“No."

“Matthew -“

“We need a moment.”

Robin looked around helplessly, trying not to look at Strike, hoping to find a friendly face, her mother, _anyone_. She said his name again and Matthew grabbed her hand, practically dragging her out of the church and into a room off the side of the altar. Luckily, he thought to grab the good arm and not the one that was still in pain from recently being knifed.

“Matthew, what are you doing?”

“What are _you_ doing?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. Matthew shook his head and continued, “You don’t even know why you’re marrying me, do you?”

Robin knew the reasons, but she also knew they were all the wrong reasons. “This is a pretty inopportune time to have this kind of conversation.”

“Better have it out now instead of with a divorce solicitor in a few years.”

There was a soft knock at the door and Robin yelled back, “Not now, mum!”

Instead of stopping, the knock became louder and more insistent, so Robin whipped around and opened the door, expecting to see her frantic mother but instead it was Strike.

“Corm - what the - this is _not a good time_ ,” the last four words were spoken through her clenched teeth.

“I know, I just -“

Strike stopped and Robin wondered if he even knew why he felt compelled to follow them back here. She heard Matthew huff and looked back at him as he said, “Of course he’s here. Can’t keep away from you, even today.”

“I was invited.”

“That’s not what I meant, Strike. After everything you put her through, you think it’s fine to just show up here and interrupt the whole thing.”

“I didn’t intend to -“

Robin put a hand up to stop him and asked, “What _are_ you doing here? You fired me for one admittedly stupid thing and then I never heard from you, and you’re going to show up here looking like you’ve been run over by a lorry and as if nothing has happened?”

“Never heard from me? I called, left a message, practically begged -“

“You did what?” She may not have been working for Strike anymore, but it only took a second for her detective’s brain to click in. Robin immediately turned to Matthew who had gone from red-in-the-face angry to completely pale. “Matthew, what did you do?”

“What I had to.”

“Matthew.” Robin’s sudden anger was manifesting itself into feeling like her entire face was on fire. She knew he must have deleted the messages, even knew when he probably did it.

“You wouldn’t have hesitated. You would have gone running back to him the second you heard his voice.”

“That’s not -“ Robin started to protest, to say that wasn’t true, but it was and maybe it made her a fool to give up the safety of Matthew for the danger of working alongside Strike. But, Matthew _wasn’t_ safe. Matthew had cheated, Matthew had lied, Matthew had hurt her and tried to keep her from doing things that made her happy. 

For just a moment, she thought she was going to explode with anger, but instead she calmly took a deep breath and then another. She paused to smooth her hands along the skirt of her dress, not because the dress was out of place but to keep her hands from shaking.

“I am done with everyone else wanting to run my life for me and make my decisions. And that means the both of you.”

Robin turned back to Strike and said, “I don’t know why you came back here, but I need you to leave. I’m not ready to deal with _this_ yet. Not today.”

Strike nodded and to Robin’s surprise, he did not argue, just slowly backed out of the room and walked away. She turned back to Matthew and very calmly stated, “I can’t believe I ever thought this was the right choice.”

“I could say the same for myself -“

“Yes, exactly. My reasons for marrying you were foolish and I honestly don’t know why you’d want to marry me - so for whatever it's worth and whatever it meant - maybe it’s good that Cormoran showed up.”

“Robin -“

She put her hand up to stop him and continued, “Matthew, we’ve lied to ourselves for too long. This isn’t even about me working for Cormoran or whatever you think is going on there. This is about us and we just - we don’t belong together anymore.”

Once they had been happy, but then there was the attack, and then there was Robin giving up control of her own life to everyone else, including Matthew. She wanted her life back and this was the moment where it was going to start.

“Tell my mum I need to talk to her, and tell everyone else I’ll apologize shortly.”

Matthew looked as if he was about to say something, and she knew him well enough to know by his facial expression that it was going to be something snide or even worse, something cruel. Not today and not ever again, if she could help it, would Matthew get the last word.

“Whatever it is, keep it to yourself.”

To his credit, his expression softened and Matthew did not put up a fight. They had fooled themselves into thinking that this marriage was the right thing to do, but the mask that had been slipping for a long time was now completely gone.

Matthew exited and Robin flopped down into the nearest chair with a sigh. Whatever happened next wasn’t going to be left up to Matthew or Strike or anyone else but Robin, she was going to make damn sure of that.

 

&&&

 

The wedding-that-wasn’t was not quite the catastrophe Robin made it out to be in her head. 

Most people were understanding, some of them had likely wondered why Robin and Matthew were even together anyway. The only ones who had been furious had been Matthew’s family and Robin’s mother, Linda. Linda’s anger faded over time, as Robin assured her that as embarrassing as it may have been, it was better for them to figure it out now rather than years into an unhappy marriage, or even worse, after having children.

Robin stayed in London, taking up the spare bedroom of an old college friend who had been incredibly gracious and kind. She started working as a temp again, while she sorted out her life and what direction it was going in. She had options to go back to school, to take the police exam or to find something else entirely.

And then there was Strike.

He had given her space at first, which she very much appreciated. Robin had heard all of the grisly details about what happened with Laing from Shanker and while she had put herself in enough danger over that case, she was a little disappointed to have missed out on the ending. 

It was a full month, to the day, after the wedding that Robin got out of the shower to be greeted by a voicemail from Strike. She pressed play and heard, “Erm, hello, Robin - I have tried to give you some time, and I’m not sure a month is even enough - but I just wanted to say… I apologize. I shouldn’t have fired you for one mistake. I was angry and worried and I didn’t -“

He paused for a long time and Robin sighed. She knew the reasons, had practically heard them from Shanker in his own colorful way. Whatever Strike felt for her, whether it was partnership, friendship or something else, it had made him terrified that he would lose her. He just couldn’t express it, because he was absolutely terrible about that.

Strike’s voice continued, “Well, you know. In any case, I thought you should know that business has picked up immensely and I don’t know what your plans are, but know that you are welcome back here anytime. I want you to come back, but only if that’s what you want. As a full partner, not an assistant or a secretary. My door is always open - even if you don’t want to come back - I’d like to -“

There was the sound of knocking in the background and Robin knew instantly it was the familiar sound of someone at the office door. “I should go, someone at the door, but please - call me, if you want.”

Robin couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit, because even though most of it was unspoken, she saw right through him. Strike usually expressed affection through head nods of approvals and an occasional soft smile, so this voicemail was as open about his emotions as he got. It said nothing, but it also said everything.

She didn’t want to seem _too_ eager, so she waited until much later in the day to call him back. When he answered, she softly said, “Cormoran.”

“You got my message then?”

“Yes.”

“Should I tell you again that I’m sorry?”

Robin laughed softly and answered, “No, no, no. Once was plenty. And I do forgive you but -“

“You don’t want to come back?”

“It’s not that. It’s just for a long time, my life hasn’t been my own. I always did what everyone else wanted me to do. I thought working for you was finally something of my own, but I don’t know, I just need a little more time to think. I want to make sure I’m doing it for _me_.”

She could hear him quietly clearing his throat as he asked, “Is it rude to ask how much more time you need?”

“I don’t know, a couple weeks maybe? We can meet up, have lunch or something, talk, you know - _really_ talk.”

“Of course. Take all the time you need. Business has been good lately -“

“Well, when you catch a serial killer, I suppose everyone wants use of your services.”

“Yes, but I need a _partner_. I - I need you.”

“We’ll talk soon, I promise.”

They bid each other goodbye and Robin laid back on the futon she had been sleeping on for the past month. A large part of her wanted to jump right back in, to tell him she’d come back tomorrow, but she wasn’t ready just yet. She needed a little more preparation before she came face to face with him again.

 

&&&

 

It took less than two weeks before Strike called with a lunch invitation. It was supposed to be the other way around, but just eight days after their phone call, Robin met him at a pub near her friend’s flat.

There was a bit of awkward silence and more than one stumble as they tried to figure out how to have an actual conversation, but Robin saved it by asking for his side of the Laing story. Turns out, Shanker embellished things a bit, but from Strike she got the real story. He had mostly healed from the fight, but he still looked run down and Robin presumed it was because he was taking on too many cases.

They chatted easily as Robin filled him in on all the pitfalls that came with cancelling a wedding and how she could hardly face any of her wedding guests again without being labeled a runaway bride. Some of them thought it was funny, but Robin did not. She wished she could just erase the whole thing from everyone’s memory.

“You would think _someone_ would realize it was the right thing to do. Better to stop the wedding before it’s done, then put everyone around us through years of a horrible marriage and a messy divorce. Sure, better to not have the wedding at all, but -“

Robin shrugged and took a sip of her drink, letting her sentence trail off at that. Strike said, “I’m sure my face is probably the last one anyone in your family wants to see.”

“My family mostly understands it wasn’t your fault, though it took mum a bit to get that. Just maybe don’t run into anyone on Matthew’s side, if you can avoid it.”

“I’m sorry, Robin.”

She started to smile, but then her lips moved into a smirk. “You need a favor.”

It wasn’t often she could truly surprise him, but this time she had nailed it. “How - how did you know?”

“You already apologized. For all of it. You’re not a groveling type, and yet you apologized once again. So, you must need a favor.” Robin rolled her eyes and continued, “I can’t believe I almost fell for this whole ‘let’s just have lunch and catch up’ charade.”

“Yes, I need a favor. But, I did genuinely want to see you.”

She hoped that was true, because it was certainly true for her. Robin had missed him terribly, and she hadn’t realized exactly how much she had missed him until she saw him again.

“Fine, just tell me the favor.”

“I know you’re not ready to return to working with me. But, it would just be one fairly easy favor and I would pay you. Some very wealthy clients suspect their nanny has hacked them and is stealing money and other information that they can sell. Insider information. So they want to hack her in return to see what she has. Then take it to the police once they can prove something. Simple case, but a good payday.”

“Where do I come in? I’m hardly a hacker, and neither are you, unless you’ve been keeping that secret locked up tight.”

“I have someone to help with the technical parts. just need access to her phone, but the only time she leaves it unattended is at the gym.” 

Robin nodded in understanding and said, “Can’t exactly have you showing up in the women’s locker room, I suppose.”

“Not only that, it’s a women’s only gym, so I wouldn’t even make it past the front door.”

“Why can’t your assistant do it?” Robin tried not to sound too snotty when she said the word assistant. She didn’t have anything against the woman, she didn’t even know her, but part of her still felt replaced. It was irrational, she knew, because she was supposed to be Strike’s partner not his assistant, but it still stung.

“She’s a lovely person, very nice, does well enough, but - I trust _you_.”

Robin pushed her plate away and drank up the last bit of her beverage, taking her time before she answered, even though she already knew what her answer was going to be. She sighed and said, “Okay, I’ll do this one favor. Just _one_. But it doesn’t mean I’m coming back to work. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Of course. No conditions. Just one favor.” He said it as if he fully understood her and agreed, but Robin spied the corners of his mouth quirking up just a bit. He was just as happy to be working together again as she was. He took a few sheets of folded paper out of his coat pocket and handed them to her.

“These are all the details you need of who she is, where she goes and what her schedule is.”

He next handed her a fairly top-of-the-line smartphone and continued, “This is the same phone she has. The hacker I hired will call you tonight with instructions on what to do with that.”

“Because you don’t know.”

“Of course I don’t know. I could never get these bloody things to work right.”

Robin laughed and put the phone and his notes in her purse. He gave her a few more instructions and then insisted on paying the bill for lunch. They walked out to the street together, and before they parted in opposite directions, Robin put her hand on his arm.

“I am glad you rang me. Even if it was for selfish reasons, I’m glad.”

“It wasn’t just work reasons.”

She smiled and gave him a brief nod. “I know. Talk to you soon, Corm.”

He nodded back and they walked their separate ways. Robin had to admit that her step was a bit lighter after as she headed back to her friend’s flat. Maybe things were finally getting back on track.

 

&&&

 

The task he had given her was easy. In fact, it was so easy, she wondered if even the new assistant could have done it after a quick lock-picking lesson. All she had to do was watch which locker the nanny shoved her things in, wait for her to leave and pick the lock. Once she had the phone, she followed what the tech guy had told her to do and cloned it all to the phone Strike had given her. 

It was so easy, she could have even gotten a work-out in if she wanted to. The gym clothes she put on to blend in had gone awfully unused lately. However, she chose not to break a sweat and instead headed to a cafe a few blocks away and called Strike to tell him she had the phone.

He asked her to come to the office right away since it was a short taxi ride over there, offering to pay her fare. His offer to pay caused Robin to tease him about how business must really be going well since he was picking up more than one tab lately.

She made it the office within twenty minutes, and felt strangely happy to see it even though it was just as shabby as ever. Strike had heard her come in and he stepped out of his office to greet her.

“Where’s the assistant?”

“Her name is Elise, and she’s out to lunch.”

“You are so transparent.”

His brow furrowed in confusion, “About what? She really is out to lunch.”

Robin pulled the cloned phone out of her bag and handed it to him. “About this. I’m sure Elise could have handled this job perfectly well.”

She waited for him to fess up, because while she could have said it herself, she wanted him to say it. There was a long, awkward moment as they stared each other down. Finally, Strike sighed and put the phone in the pocket of his coat.

“Fine. I just want you back.” He stammered over his words as he continued, “I meant - want you back _here_ \- working with me.”

“Then you should have given me a more interesting task than this. A child could have done this, Cormoran.”

“So my not-so-clever scheme didn’t work?”

Robin looked down at the floor and part of her wanted to truly make him suffer, to tell him she wasn’t ready. He had done his penance though, and she was tired of temp jobs that bored her to death. When she looked back up, it was with a sly smile.

“ _That_ didn’t work. But I do want to come back.”

Strike looked instantly relieved as he said, “Robin - “

“Before you get all excited about it. I’m only coming back on _my_ terms. If you don’t agree, then I’m out.”

“That’s fair.”

Robin took a deep breath in just to make sure she was still feeling confident. “I want you to call your lawyer. We’ll draw up a legally binding partnership agreement. Strike and Ellacott, fifty-fifty partners, equals. I don’t work _for_ you, I work _with_ you. Understood?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I have to go visit with my mum for a few days, starting tomorrow, but I'll be back in time to start on Monday. And I expect to at least get a start on that partnership agreement then.”

“I’ll call him today, tell him we’d like to meet with him on Monday, first thing.”

Robin smiled, just slightly, “As for us. We keep our - uhh - friendship, as it were, as separate from our business relationship as we can.I care about you and you care about me, but we’re also here to do a job and we can’t let those - erm - feelings get in the way of that.”

She hoped she wouldn’t have to be specific, because she knew that while she did screw things up before, Strike’s reason for being so furious with her came from just how much he cared about her. Robin knew it, and so did he, but she was just regaining her footing with him, so she’d never say it loud. It was maybe more than friendship, that’s what she saw, but neither of them were ready to think about it and she saw Strike as such a closed book, he might never be ready to discuss that.

Strike had been silent for a moment, but finally responded, “Of course. Friends.”

That was about as deep of a confession as she could expect at this point. Robin impulsively went towards him and put her arms around his middle. It was an unusual gesture from her to Strike, but she was in a new era where she didn’t want to hold back anymore. Strike stood there, unmoved, for a long moment, then finally his arms moved to gently return the hug.

Robin breathed in, taking in a scent that felt so distinctly him, and she felt so grateful to be back here again. 

She let go of him and looked up to see that his features looked nominally softer than usual. “I’m happy we worked this out.” 

“As am I.”

Robin smiled broadly this time and hitched her bag up further on her shoulder. “I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

He gave her the slightest smile back and replied, “See you on Monday.”

 

&&&

 

When Robin showed up that following Monday, the lawyer was there with preliminary paperwork to sign, and the promise of more later in the week once they had ironed out other details. She was both surprised and impressed and it showed to her that Strike was finally taking her seriously. 

They quickly fell into a rhythm at work, not the old rhythm of before, but something new. Robin took on her own cases, the smaller ones since she still had a lot to learn, but she also worked with Strike on the bigger cases. It was a little crowded in the office with Elise there, so after two months of working that way and checking their finances, Robin finally convinced Strike that they should move into a slightly bigger space.

He was afraid that business could take a dive at any moment, so she found them something that was far from extravagant, but allowed a little more breathing room. It even had an elevator up to their floor, which Robin had insisted upon for Strike’s sake even though she didn’t dare tell him that. She also found herself a small one-bedroom apartment near the new office and reveled in her newfound independence.

Robin and Elise were celebrating their moving-in day at the new office with a cheap bottle of wine from the market two doors down when Strike arrived with a scowl that was even more fraught than his usual one.

“Come on, Cormoran, today is a happy day.”

She poured him a glass of wine and handed it to him with a smile. He reluctantly clinked the glasses of both women, then downed it all in one drink before heading back to his new office to start the unpacking process. Robin followed right behind him and stood in the doorway with a bemused look on her face.

“Why so grumpy?”

“I’m not.”

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine. “You are.” 

“Big changes like this just take some time to get used to for me. Besides, I kind of liked having you in the same room all the time.”

She grinned at him, because she really liked hearing that. They had become much closer over the past two months. Now that Matthew was completely out of the picture, Strike seemed to feel more comfortable around her and it showed in small ways, from the way he would touch her arm or her hand, or sit closely to her as they worked on a case together.

“I’m literally only six feet further away than I was before.”

“But in a whole other room.”

He actually cracked a smile at her, and if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was flirting with her. Robin knew buried underneath all of their baggage and angst, there was a spark of something there, but she knew Strike would never make the first move. He definitely wasn’t the flirting type.

“Well, my door is always open.” She threw in a slight wink, because her eyelid decided to flirt before her brain told it not to. Robin tried not to visibly cringe, hoping that it wasn’t an awkward wink, because it wasn’t like she had ever been the type to look cool while winking.

She turned and went next door to her own office, suddenly feeling less confident that Strike returned her affections. For a couple of detectives, they sure were absolute crap at figuring each other out.

 

&&&

 

Five more months passed and while Strike and Ellacott were never going to be swimming in piles of excess cash, they were actually making a living out of it. A few high profile cases, Strike’s semi-celebrity status and Robin’s personality got clients in the door. Solving their cases and doing the job well is what kept them there.

There were plenty of the usual “spouses trying to catch their philandering other half in the act” cases, which were boring and easy, but made them a quick bit of cash. The harder cases took more time, but had the greater payoff. More importantly, Strike had gotten over his grumbling about the new office not being as good as the old office. He had even found himself a new flat in a nicer building.

Things were good, not always easy, but good. Strike was still as curmudgeonly as ever, but Robin liked him that way. It was the right balance to her sunnier disposition and blossoming self-confidence. 

That night they had been harangued into attending a party held by one of their more upscale clients. Neither of them wanted to be there, but Robin thought it might be a good way to network with some very wealthy people who might need outside parties investigating things like corporate espionage or embezzlement. They met outside the party and she noticed that Strike had finally taken her advice and invested in a new suit. Robin had lived frugally enough since being on her own, that she allowed herself to invest in a glitzier party dress than anything she already had in her closet.

“Corm, look at you.”

“Oh, please don’t.”

Her hand went to his face and she rubbed the smooth skin with her fingertips. “You even shaved.”

He did not flinch at her touch, but he did grumble, “I shave all the time.”

Robin laughed and nudged him towards the door with her hand on his back. They went in to the party and were immediately greeted by the client who had invited them. It was definitely a lot more posh than their normal crowd of people, but the food was good and despite the wealth of the crowd, they were fairly easy to converse with.

What struck Robin was how many guests automatically assumed her and Strike were a couple. She had stopped counting around the seventh time. The annoying part was the assumption that a man and a woman couldn’t work closely together without sleeping together. But, Robin started to understand that why after she paid attention to how Strike looked at her, and how he stood close to her, sometimes with his hand on the small of her back. 

Strike hated change, but things between them had inexorably changed no matter how much either one of them might have denied it. 

When they left the party, they decided to walk for a bit, chatting about the contacts they made until they neared the tube station. Robin stopped well before the entrance and turned to face him.

“You know, it’s kind of funny how many people thought we were -“

“Right.”

No denial or disgust was evident in Strike’s reaction, so Robin took a deep breath in as she made her choice. She had spent most of her life being directed by the choices others made for her, but since meeting Strike and especially in the past seven months, she had taken control of her own life for the first time.

She took a step towards him and he remained planted where he stood. Robin made a few awkward hand motions because she didn’t know exactly where to put her hands, which made Strike furrow his brow in confusion. Finally she grabbed the lapels of his coat and went up on the balls of her feet to press her lips to his. It was soft and brief and she acted so weird in the lead up to it, you would have thought she’d never kissed a man before.

When she backed off, just slightly, Strike’s brow was still furrowed. “What was that?”

She looked at him in disbelief, so he clarified, “I mean, why?”

Her expression did not change as she replied, “Because you never would. You’re no coward, Corm, not usually - but - when it comes to this - _us_ -“

“Robin,” he said her name so low and soft that she almost didn’t hear it, and might not have heard it had she not seen his lips moving.

Her heart froze in fear for a moment, that maybe she had misread everything, but his hand suddenly moved and his fingertips touched her face in much the same way she had touched his earlier. His hand then moved to rest in her hair and he leaned in to kiss her. This time, Robin got out of her head and let herself feel all of it. His mouth tasted both pleasantly salty and sweet, and the hand that wasn’t in her hair, went to her waist, pulling her closer to him. There was a coolness in the air that night, but she suddenly felt none of it as the warmth of his kiss spread through her body.

Someone on the street walked past them and slightly knocked into Robin, which reminded her that they were indeed in a public place. She broke off the kiss and started giggling softly, burying her face in his chest as his arms stayed around her.

“Robin, what are we doing?”

She lifted her head and looked up at him with a slight grin. “What everyone thinks we’ve been doing since we first met.”

“It changes everything.”

Robin gently poked him in the chest with her index finger as she punctuated each word, “And. You. Hate. Change.”

“It’s not that - it is - but it’s just - I can’t -“

She rolled her eyes but immediately strengthened her resolve, “Cormoran Strike, stop acting like a bloody idiot. I care about you, you care about me, we probably should have figured this out months ago, but we’re both, well, idiots about this sort of thing. Whether you like it or not, things change, and this - this is the good kind of change.”

“I just don’t want to lose what we’ve built together.”

“We won’t.”

She couldn’t resist the urge, so she tilted her head up and kissed him again. This time they were both less tentative about it, like maybe Robin’s confidence that everything would work out was actually rubbing off on him a little. 

When the kiss broke off, Strike asked, “What now?”

Robin grabbed his hand and walked with him past the entrance of the tube station, then quickly hailed a taxi. She had known in her heart that if they ever made it to this point, it would be full steam ahead and she could not hesitate or he would retreat. That’s why she gave the driver Strike’s address when they got in the cab, and only because it was a little closer to the restaurant than her place.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Of course. And so are you, you just haven’t realized it yet.” 

Strike laughed and leaned his head back against the seat. Everything had changed, but it was all changing in exactly the right ways.


End file.
